Award winners saluted for aiding blind community

Award winners saluted for aiding blind community

Yvan Tessier and his seeing-eye dog Pavot in a file photo.Photo by
Ryan Taplin

The American Federation of the Blind recently gave out 2012 Helen Keller Achievement Awards to "individuals and organizations that have improved the quality of life for all people who are blind or visually impaired." Among the winners were:

- CBS Television for "voluntarily and continuously providing video description to its viewers since 2002", including such shows as the popular CSI and NCIS police series.

- The Delta Gamma Foundation for its Service for Sight program that provides financial support for schools and other organizations that serve the blind or people with vision loss. It also gives grants and scholarships to individual students.

- 15-year-old jazz pianist and singer Rocco Fiorentino. Blind since birth, Rocco is a keen advocate for children with vision loss. Among his accomplishments are persuading the State of New Jersey to spend $1.2-million on braille education and leading a campaign to have October declared Blind Awareness Month. To date, 44 U.S. states have done so.

Related Posts

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.